The Rashomon effect explores point of view in storytelling, and the subjectivity of even honest narratives is based on point of view. In 1950, Rashomon was the first film to explore this. Currently, The Affair explores the differences in story based on point of view. Both clinical and forensic psychiatrists must consider point of view when hearing narratives from patients or defendants.
Conclusion:
The Affair provides an excellent contemporary example through which to explore the Rashomon effect in conceptualization of eyewitness testimony and reliability of reporting.
CotlerMP. Bioethics consultation: the Rashomon effect. Med Law2013; 32: 205–212.
2.
KurosawaA. Rashomon, Daiei Film, 1950.
3.
LeviHTreemS. The Affair (TV Series), Showtime, 2014.
4.
MölschMWalserMSurreyC, et al. Prospective memory under acute stress: the role of (output) monitoring and ongoing-task. Neurobiol Learn Mem2019; 164. doi: is 10.1016/j.nlm.2019.1072
5.
RosenbaumKFriedmanSH. Review of Showtime’sThe Affair. J Am Acad Psychiatry2019; 47: 130–131.
6.
BeuzenABelzungC. Link between emotional memory and anxiety states: a study by principal component analysis. Physiol Behav1995; 58: 111–118.
7.
BonniciHMChadwickMJLuttiA, et al. Detecting representations of recent and remote autobiographical memories in vmPFC and hippocampus. J Neurosci2012; 32: 16982–16991.
8.
CliffordBRScottJ. Individual and situational factors in eyewitness testimony. J Appl Psychol1978; 63: 352–359.
9.
StawarzyckDD’ArgembeauA. The dynamics of memory retrieval for internal mentation. Sci Rep2019; 9: 13927.
10.
LoftusEF. Reconstructive memory processes in eyewitness testimony. In: SalesBD (ed.) The trial process. Perspectives in Law & Psychology. 2nd ed.Springer, Boston: Springer, 1981.
11.
KramerTHBuckhoutREugenioP. Weapon focus, arousal, and eyewitness memory. Law Hum Behav1990; 14: 167–184.
12.
MemonAVartoukianR. The effects of repeated questioning on young children’s eyewitness testimony. Br J Psychol1996; 87: 403–415.
13.
LoftusEFPalmerJC. Reconstruction of automobile destruction: an example of interaction between language and memory. J Verb Learn Verb Behav1974; 13: 585–589.
14.
TothSLCicchettiD. Remembering, forgetting and the effects of trauma on memory: a developmental psychopathology perspective. Dev Psychopathol1998; 10: 589–605.
15.
RobertsP. Vulnerability to false memory: the effects of stress, imagery, trait anxiety and depression. Curr Psychol2002; 21: 240–252.
16.
OtgaarHHoweMLPatihisL, et al. The return of the repressed: the persistent and problematic claims of long-forgotten trauma, Perspect Psychol Sci2019; 14: 1072–1095.
17.
UlatowskaJSawickaM. Recovered memories in clinical practices: a research review. Psychiatria Polska2017; 51: 609–618.
